Moving to Alaska

As a mover in Alaska, we hear from lots of people who think that a move to Alaska to live a simpler life is a slam dunk. I recently was asked by a friend for the name of the PBS documentary about Dick Proenneke who lived off the land near Twin Lakes. Alone in the Wilderness is a wonderful story filled with adventure.

Our website is often filled with requests for an estimate for a move to Alaska. Many folks are in the dreaming stage, thinking that they can run away, eat sourdough pancakes with small berries collected from bushes dotting the hillsides. While it worked for Dick, less that 1% of the US population is wired for that type of living.

What they don't think about is the difficulty of living a remote lifestyle. Months of dark and cold. No access to convenience stores. Limited communication. Solitude bordering on complete isolation. Hard work. Filling the woodstove throughout the night.

My brother used to be a fishing guide in remote Alaska. Each year they would hire a few Cheechakos with dreams of living the Guide lifestyle. About 70% of them didn't survive the season. The isolation got to them. No showers. Lonely nights. I want mommy. Early plane trip home.

So before you sell your house and auction off your worldly belongings, you might want to do a few things first to see if you are wired to for remote living.

1. Lock yourself in a closet for the weekend. Close the door. Entertain yourself.


2. Don't shower for 2 weeks. The itching is only in your head (or maybe on your head).


3. Set your alarm clock to go off every 2 hours for two weeks straight.


4. Turn off your hot water tank. Shower. Again and again. Shivering is your friend.


5. Read JohnKrakauer's book "Into the Wild". Read closely the description of his decomposed body from the Moose hunter who found Christopher Johnson.


6. Load up your shopping cart with cabbage, turnips, and fava beans. Come up with fun ways to cook each.

So, if you pass the test, give us a call and we can move you to anywhere in Alaska you wish. But keep our business card. You might need us for a return trip.

Thar She Blows!???

Thar she blows! Maybe. Word is that the Cook Inlet volcano is ready to shoot ash high into the stratosphere. What will that mean for Anchorage. That depends. It depends upon what way the wind is blowing. It is already dark up here. If it goes, it is about to get darker.
Our crack team of sales consultants, crew members, and staff are all ready, camera in hand, if it erupts. Stay tuned.

Christmas Lights Year-round! How trendy!

No matter where you drive in Anchorage, you will inevitably come across houses with Christmas Lights up year around. While this may seem odd to our newcomers, it really isn’t. There are a few reasons people leave lights up year around.

For several years (as early as the 70’s) the city of Anchorage has hung miniature white lights on trees, bushes and a few light posts. They also encourage residents to do the same. The lights help Anchorage by making it a brighter and safer city during the long winter months.

Another reason people leave their lights up year around may have to do with the hazards of hanging them.

We all know that Christmas is in the winter; well winter months can be just a tad challenging in Alaska. If it isn’t snowing, then it is below freezing. If you decide to hang your lights up in the snow, you must be careful when plugging them in, because snow melts and water and electricity do not mix well. I have personally been zapped and 1 year, I avoided being zapped, but the snow seeped into the plug and zapped every fuse in every strand of lights I had just finished hanging.

Some people would give up at this point, but I decided to just rest for the night and hang them the next day. The next morning I woke up and was happy to see it had stopped snowing. My joy was short lived; I opened the door and the cold air took my breath away. The temperature had dropped to single digits. I told myself I was an Alaskan (and we are tough) so I could not let the cold air stop me. I bundled myself up and hit the ladder to take down the frazzled lights. A horrible thing happened as I pulled on the strands…. they broke in pieces. It was so cold that the light strands had frozen completely solid. I took a deep breath and blew out ice fog. I then proceeded to pull off all the lights, went to the store to buy more and came home to start the whole process again.

Another lesson I learned: It is best to take the new lights out of their packaging and stretch out the light strands inside your home where it is warm. Next, you roll them up around your arm/shoulder and then go out to hang them. Trying to take the lights out of their original package in the cold air only causes frustration; as if it is too cold, they will break. The strands also do not stretch well in the cold air.

Another problem I ran into; one year I was hanging lights but only had flat staples instead of the rounded ones. I figured it would not be a problem. I was wrong; once again the cold air made the light strand brittle, so not having the extra room the rounded staples allow, made the lights break in half. I was not a happy camper.

No matter how old I get I admire the beauty of Christmas lights. This is especially true in Alaska; because I know 1st hand how challenging it can be to hang them and they truly do add brightness to our dark winter months.


Beckie Martin

And We Live in Alaska Why?

Ken Wyman, our Anchorage Operations Manager, shares some of his favorite pictures. When you look at these it pretty much answers the question of why we live in Alaska!

Alaska Moose Recipes (even famous politicians love this)

Alaskan Moose Roast (Even famous politicians find this darn good)
(This recipe works great with any meat that needs, slow moist cooking)
3-lb. roast
1C. red wine
5-6 large carrots
6 large potatoes
10 large fresh mushrooms
Flour
Salt and pepper to taste
1 Tbs. Of peanut or olive oil
1 Tbs. Mama Bear Kitchen Wild Thing Spice
1 Tbs. Mama Bear Kitchen Fish and Game Rub
Sliced medium onion
Rinse meat thoroughly. To rid meat of gamely taste, it may be soaked for 1-2 hours in mixture of 1 qt. Cold water and 1 cup vinegar. Rinse again and pat it dry.
Dredge roast with flour Mama Bear Kitchen Fish and Game Rub, salt and pepper. Brown, on all sides in iron cart pan in which the peanut oil has been heated. Mix Mama Bear Kitchen Wild Thing Spice with wine. Pour over the roast, add sliced onion. Preheat plank for 15 min. Palace roast on it and cover with aluminum foil.Bake until tender about 2-3 hours in 325F. About 1 hour before serving time, add peeled and cut carrots, potatoes and mushrooms. Continue cooking until vegetables are tender.

Continental's Fleet of Trucks Building

The familiar United logo will become much more prominent in Alaska as Continental builds its fleet of United branded through-van trailers.

With Continental's transition to represent United Van Lines in Alaska and Mayflower in the state of Washington, over 100 pieces of equipment were repainted from orange to the fleet logos of the UniGroup family of movers.

With over 50 years experience in moving to, from, and within Alaska coupled with the strength of the United brand, Continental's capabilities in Alaska continue to dominate the Alaska marketplace.

To learn more about Continental, visit their website at http://www.continentalvan.com/ .

John Adams Summits Mt. Rainier

OK. The flag was actually photoshopped into the picture, but John Adams, Continental Certified Moving Consultant, and his son Bryce, actually summited Mt Rainier over the weekend. That is pretty neat in itself, but for a nearly 50 year old novice climber, it is an incredible feat.

John has no plans to best this achievement in terms of climbing, but he is certainly glad that it is over.

"That was the hardest thing I have ever done," states John.

No, not actually. I have informed him that he needs to go back so that we can get the Mayflower flag in the picture too!